Archaeologists have made an ‘amazing’ find at the former Oxfordshire manor of arts and crafts designer William Morris.

Kelmscott Manor, near Faringdon, was built around 1570, but a new discovery suggests the wider settlement could date back thousands of years.

A piece of Iron Age pottery has been uncovered in the latest excavations of a three-year project led by Cotswold Archaeology.

READ MORE: A4074: What we know about fatal cyclist crash near Wallingford

Archaeologist Indie Jago said: "It's really amazing for us, because we did test pitting here last year and we were finding that the medieval stuff was all to the west of where the church is today.

"These excavations are showing that the medieval village extended much further.

"We've got the continuing settlement to the west and lots of agricultural activity down to the south near where the manor is today."

In the latest investigations of the project, which has been funded by part of a £4.3m Heritage Lottery Fund award, researchers and volunteers begin excavating evaluation trenches around the village.

READ MORE: Karak Cafe fire: Cause of Cowley Road blaze revealed

The lottery fund also paid for repairs to the manor house, which was reopened by owners the Society of Antiquaries in 2022 following the two-year revamp, and also funded garden renovations and new visitor facilities.

The Grade I listed, limestone farmhouse, which was originally called Lower Farm, was built on the bank of the River Thames for farmer Thomas Turner.

William Morris, whose fabric designs have been highly fashionable since the 1860s, rented the property from 1871 until his death in 1896.